A Balanced Look at the ‘Darknet’

By Roderick Graham

This is a shortened version of a cybersecurity column on The Conversation's website written by Roderick Graham, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice:

The internet is much more than just the publicly available, Google-able web services most online users frequent - and that's good for free expression.

Companies frequently create private networks to enable employees to use secure corporate servers. And free software allows individuals to create what are called "peer-to-peer" networks, connecting directly from one machine to another. Subnetworks like these are often called "darknets" or, collectively, as the singular "darknet."

Some of what's on the darknet is alarming. But that's not the whole story. Portraying the darknet as primarily, or even solely, for criminals ignores the societal forces that push people toward these anonymous networks.

Our research into the content and activity of one major darknet, called Freenet, indicates that darknets should be understood not as a crime-ridden "Wild West," but rather as "wilderness," spaces that by design are meant to remain unsullied by the civilizing institutions - law enforcement, governments and corporations - that have come to dominate the internet.

There is definitely illegal activity on the darknet, as there is on the open internet. However, many of the people using the darknet have a diverse range of motives and activities, linked by a common desire to reclaim what they see as major benefits of technology: privacy and free speech. Our research explored Freenet, an anonymous peer-to-peer network accessed via a freely downloadable application. We found that Freenet is dominated by what scholars call a "hacker ethic." This term encompasses a group of progressive and libertarian beliefs often espoused by hackers, which are primarily concerned with these ideals:

* Access to information should be free;

* Technology can, and should, improve people's lives;

* Bureaucracy and authority are not to be trusted;

* A resistance to conventional and mainstream lifestyles.

There is child pornography on Freenet, but there are also Freenet sites for sharing music, e-books and video. Many sites were focused around personal self-expression, like regular internet blogs. Others were dedicated to promoting a particular ideology, such as socialism or libertarianism. Still other sites shared information from whistle-blowers or government documents, including a copy of the Wikileaks website's data, complete with its "Afghan War Diary" of classified documents about the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Most of this content is from individuals who have a deep mistrust of authority, reject gross materialism and conformity, and wish to live their digital lives free of surveillance.

The darknet contains many distinct spaces catering to a wide range of activities, from meritorious to abhorrent. In this sense, the darknet is no more dangerous than the rest of the internet.

To read more of Roderick Graham's essays at The Conversation, go to https://theconversation.com/profiles/roderick-s-graham-311867/articles